15 Educational Terms All Parents Should Know..

As an educator, I forget that I am often speaking a language very foreign to parents. You can see a mother, or father, politely smiling, or nodding. When you ask if they have any questions, the answer is a resounding "no".  Most of us have been in this position, where information is coming fast, and we really don't know exactly what is being said, but it's very difficult to slow the conversation down. When someone finally senses that you've understood at best 50% of what has been shared, there is an internal sigh of relief. Every parent wants to feel that they are an integral part of their child's educational team, and some understanding of these basic terms will help you be a knowledgeable participant.

Universal Screener

A universal screener is an assessment given three times a year, to all students in a district. Examples would include MAP , Aimsweb Oral Reading Fluency, and Star Testing. Specific tests differ by school district; however, those listed are very common.

Progress Monitoring

Progress monitoring is a norm referenced measure that is used to assess a skill (i.e. reading fluency, writing, math problem solving, etc) weekly, or every other week, to determine if a student is responding to the extra support they are receiving.

Benchmark

The benchmark, or target, is the typical (50th percentile) score on a norm referenced, universal screener.

RTI

Response To Intervention (RTI) is a three tiered model of intervention which helps educators identify students who are below benchmark, not making progress, or possibly have a specific learning disability. Tier 1 (green) is the instruction that all students receive, we call this the core curriculum. Core instruction should be sufficient for 80% of learners. Tier 2 (yellow) is for students who require additional intervention, beyond their core curriculum, because they are below benchmark. This is typically the case for about 15% of learners. Finally, Tier 3 (red) is for students who are significantly below benchmark, and require intensive intervention. Not all, but many of these students, are eventually identified with a specific learning disability. This tier represent about 5% of learners.

Reading Fluency

The term reading fluency is defined by the speed and accuracy with which a student can read. Educators become concerned when students read slowly, with many errors, and few self-corrections. Reading fluency is highly correlated with comprehension.

Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is the ability to understand what has been read. Students are asked to engage with a variety of text structures and genres. Often, students evidence better comprehension skills on fictional texts. Factors that influence comprehension include vocabulary, prior knowledge, text structure, motivation, and attention.  If a student is reading a book independently, comprehension should be at about 95%. For the purposes of instruction, teachers will use books that are at about 90% comprehension with adult support.

Guided Reading Level

In the elementary years, teachers will often share with parents their son/daughter's guided reading level. This system is typically based off of Fountas and Pinnell's leveling of literature.  It is alphabetical, starting with A and progresses to Z.  Knowing your child's guided reading level can help in selecting books at the library, and also gives you a sense of where he/she is reading relative to other students within a grade level.

Math Fluency

Students today are very lucky that memorizing basic math facts can be achieved using the ipad, computer, or other forms of technology. Math fluency refers to how quickly students can access answers to basic computation problems.

Math Problem Solving

Math problem-solving is a student's ability to apply computation skills to word problems. They must determine what the question is asking, identify the steps needed to find the answer, and finally utilize math computation to get the answer.

Executive Functioning

Executive functioning is a group of metacognitive skills that create successful students. These skills include things like task initiation, working memory, planning, organizing, monitoring, and goal setting.

Common Core Standards

Initially developed in 2009, the common core standards have now replaced Illinois state standards. These are standards that are consistent across states, and outline what students should be able to do in the areas of english/language arts and math by the end of each grade.

PARCC

PARCC, which stands for, Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College & Careers, is replacing the ISAT.  All public school students must take the PARCC (there are exceptions within special education) starting in 3rd grade. The assessment is aligned with the common core standards. School districts will be judged based on their students' performance.

504 Plan

A 504 Plan is a form of legislation through the Americans With Disabilities Act which allows students with medical conditions access to accommodations within the classroom and during standardized testing. The most common medical condition seen in schools is ADHD. These students DO NOT require specialized instruction in any academic areas.

IEP

An IEP, or Individualized Education Program, is created when a student is eligible for special education services. This plan contains goals and accommodations which are reviewed annually.

The Normal Curve

If your child has been administered any assessment with a normal curve, it will most likely have a mean, or average, of 100.  The standard deviation, which measures the variability of average, is 15. Therefore, scores between 85 (16th%) and 115 (84th%) are considered to be broadly within the average range.